Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value – A. Einstein

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Instagram is the next big thing in the social media world. Following the steps of Facebook, Instagram has become the app that all the cool kids are using. Some people would say that Facebook is the hottest social media used today, I wouldn’t argue completely against that assertion; however, I would say that Instagram is the next big thing and it is right here (to quote Samsung). Now that everybody is on Facebook, even the parents and grandparents, most kids are using something else that is still considered COOL because their parents aren’t using it. And that other thing is Instagram.

Well, if a company wants to reach that particular demographic, look no more, Instagram is the real deal now. According to EverythingPR, 54% of Top Brands Include Instagram in their Social Strategy in 2012 and this numbers will continue to increase significantly as Instagram is becoming more and more popular among brands and the number or users has grown very fast since last year.

Nike for example has leveraged its presence on the social media using by scoring more than a million followers on its Instagram page. This number is very powerful as these people choose to follow Nike and it means that they either are Nike customers/consumers or they like the company to the point of following it on Instagram. On its page, Nike posts pictures of products and the followers do the rest — they like the picture or they comment on it. That’s visibility.

Not only does Instagram allow you to reach that specific niche of “cool kids” , but the fact that those pictures can be directly shared through other social media channels like Facebook or Twitter makes it even more appealing because by doing so, you will also reach those people who aren’t on Instagram, but who are using other social media sites.

This cool social media platform works well for small businesses as well as fortune 500 companies. It’s all depends on how well the company is using it. For those companies selling lines of products or introducing new lines of products, Instagram is the place to showcase the pictures of the products and create a buzz around them. In conclusion, if you use your Instagram smartly and link it to your other social media accounts, you have more chances to make the best out of your social media presence and reach more customers everyday and keep in touch with news trends in the business and what consumers want to see you doing.

Most of us believe that the car that one drives is the extension of who we are. It is mostly true for some people. If we see a woman driving a Volvo, we would assume that she is a mother. And why that? Because Volvo are known to be family cars for their safety attributions. Another thing that makes people define who you are because of the car you are driving is the amount of money spent to buy that car. We know that someone is rich if he /she is driving a luxury car like a Porsche or another luxury car.

Luxury cars are known not only for their prices, but also for their comfort, features and above all their safety. But what does it really mean to drive a luxury car? is there a difference between someone who drives a Ferrari and someone who drives a Lamborghini? Of course there is. Besides social status, luxury cars communicate something else.

If someone is driving a Ferrari, it means that not only they like and practice sport, it is also suitable for everyday use.

Driving a Porsche is a symbol of autonomy. Driving a Bugatti means that someone is on the next level of luxury. The engine of the car alone cost 100,000 Euros, the price of some new luxury cars. Starting from this observation one can only suspect that the Bugatti Veyron is not a model for the common mortal, but a great jewelry on wheels that will please fans of road and sports car, although it would be a tragedy to play such a machine by incorrect operation of the circuit.

Rolls Royce on the other hand, known the flying woman brand, is just the synonym of perfection. Both the beauty and the features of the car makes it a scarce in the automobile industry. Someone who is driving this, as you probably know, is on the other level, no needs to describe him/her.

This just a example of what a luxury car can mean and believe me, this not the end the of the list. There are still so many brands out there like the Maserati or Aston Martin, the James Bond-like car, and so many more that have a meaning to it.

as I always say, everything is communication, we just did that with luxury cars

For an advertisement to be effective, it needs to be credible to the audience. Credibility or ethos is usually found in the product, or the company that sells the product. Another way to establish a product’s ethos is to do celebrity endorsement. When people see that a celebrity that they like and trust is using a product, it makes them believe in both the product and the company. In advertisement, when the ethos of a company or product and the ethos of a celebrity are combined, it is called associational juxtaposition. This just means juxtaposing an image of a product with something more desirable.

Associational juxtaposition is a technique of print advertising in which a product image is juxtaposed with an image of a person, object, or situation toward which the intended audience can be assumed to have positive feelings.

In the case of Diet Coke, Marc Jacobs’s image is juxtaposed to it because of his reputation as a good designer and a sexy man. The hotness of Jacobs makes Diet Coke looks sexy and infers that people who drink Diet Coke are sexy, or by drinking Diet Coke people become sexy. Diet Coke, a product mostly advertised to women needed a push so that the target audience will have even more faith in the product than before. By combining the strong ethos of Diet Coke as a product and Marc Jacobs’s ethos, it gives Diet Coke a positive image by making it look more sexy and accessible to people.

Therefore, associational juxtaposition is a form that functions and a function that forms. It functions to lead the audience to associate unrelated ideas as closely connected, and consequently, to transfer emotions and attitudes attendant on one to the other. Therefore, the way people feel about Diet Coke is transferred on Marc Jacobs and vice versa. Those who think that Marc Jacobs is sexy will now see Diet Coke as a sexy drink that leads to more sexiness. And those who see Diet Coke as a credible product will trust Marc Jacobs as a designer because they will feel like Coca Cola wouldn’t have hired him to endorse its product if he didn’t have a strong ethos.

Having formed the discourse, associational juxtaposition goes on to form the perceptions and interpretations the audience has of the world. These perceptions and interpretations can impact significantly ways the audience acts, reacts, and interacts with their world. This ad trains on each other’s ethos to enhance the perceptions that people had about both Diet Coke and Marc Jacobs. This new perception of Diet Coke will change the way people see it and will also change how they identify the designer and his products. Associational juxtaposition, then, can function to form individual and collective perceptions of reality. It can build on existing ethos to make an ad more effective or transferring a strong ethos to a product that would not have otherwise to be credible.

Online dating websites are now so popular that I can bet that everybody can name at least one online dating website that they either know, or use. With 90 million single people between the age of 19 and 45, no wonder why online dating websites are booming everyday. Although the need is there, what should people expect from using a website to find that special someone? Well, so many things to expect.

The biggest problem with online dating comes not from the websites, but mostly from the users. Many people believe that by joining an online dating website, things will happen just by magic. It’s not easy because you don’t meet people you are interested in in matters of minutes or days. It takes some time to meet someone who you are interested in and who you think might be interested in asking you out.

The one thing that every person joining an online dating site must learn is PATIENCE. You have to be patient about meeting people and don’t be frustrated if you don’t see anyone who interests you within a week or so of opening your account.

The other problem with online dating is that we never know who we will meet online– good and honest people, criminals, psycho, etc.

Despite the need and demand for dating and the increasing number of single people, online dating isn’t always the best option. Most people who try online dating end up giving up on their search as soon as they feel frustrated for not meeting people they wanted to. According to Forbes magazine, 99 out of 100 online dating sites fail, and because some have an unsavory reputation, you won’t find many Angel or VC investors who are interested. Plan to focus on that other popular tier of investors – founders, family, friends, and fools.

Maybe we should come up with a new way to meet people. If the traditional ways aren’t working for most of us, and if online dating is as unsuccessful as traditional place (bars, library etc.), then we need to come up with a new system of matching people , or at least a new way to meet people. Whether we like it or not, the need and the demand are there, and they need to be addressed.

Now everyone that I know has access to internet either on their mobile or any other device. If you ask people the best invention that has improved their lives in the past 30 years, I am very sure that many people will talk about the internet being one of them, if not the best.

I wouldn’t disagree with that assentation. As far as I can remember, I have always used the internet, and I can’t imagine myself spending a whole day without accessing the internet through my phone, my laptop or any other device that can allow me to.

I use the internet to do my homework, to do research, to Skype with my family and friends back home, to get news, to watch movies and TV shows, to shop etc. in general everyone would agree that the internet, and various devices we can access it on, have made our lives easier. For example, you don’ even have to have a pen and a stamp to write and mail a check. You can write an e-check and send it electronically. How awesome is that? We don’t have to go to travel agencies to book a flight. We can do it online and it takes less time and energy.

However, I am worried about one thing. I am just worried that pretty soon, we won’t be able to interact with people face to face, or just meet people that we randomly meet that have a positive effect on us.

Last week I read an article that at the airport in Minneapolis, most restaurants will have Ipads or other types of tablets available for customer to use. I told myself, what’s a great idea? But when I read further down and it said that people could now order their food using the tablet, many questions came to me. If people can order using a mobile device, then there is no need for a waitress or waiter. some may agree that it’s fast and good to be able to order using a mobile device, but why don’t we see the value in human interactions? talking to a server may be the only human face to face conversation that some people have in a whole day. depriving hose people the chance to smile or to talk directly to other human beings is a disaster to me. It’s like denying people water or air.

We spend most of our time using our cell phones or other mobile devices. And while we’re doing that, we’re tuning out the people who are actually in the same room as us. We seem to have long ago crossed the line as to where doing this stuff is appropriate. It’s really scary how far technology is taking us and I am worried that in the years to come we will end up not having face to face conversations with the people we live with at all. It’s already happening. For example, I live with my cousin, but I find myself talking to her on Whatsapp instead of going to the next room and talking to her face to face.

It is great that technology is changing positively our lives and making it easier to do certain things. However, it shouldn’t undermine the importance of human interactions, especially face-to-face conversations every time we can do so. I promise myself that I will do my best to communicate face to face every time it is possible to do so, and use technology devices appropriately.

When the three women who were held captive in Cleveland,Ohio were saved by a neighbor, Charles Ramsey, the rescuer fame has gone viral over the internet. Amanda Berry who went missing 10 years ago the day before her 17th birthday was helped by the new internet star, Charles Ramsey, who heard her call for help. Amanda was not alone in the house. She was held captive along with two other girls. Thankfully, Charles heard their cry for help and called 911.

Charles was interview when the police came and his speech has gone viral all over the internet.

His choice of words had made him not only a hero, but also a star. It is a matter of minutes today for something to go viral on the internet today. Sometimes, it happens even without any control. Things just happen on the internet.

“The Internet likes to celebrate our heroes,” said Ben Huh, CEO of The Cheezburger Network . A video of Ramsey was the top item on the site Wednesday. “In our own way, this is our celebration of Charles Ramsey.”

Of course, there was the inevitable auto-tune. The Gregory Brothers, known for “Bed Intruder,” “Double Rainbow” and other Internet-famous videos have contributed to making Ramsey famous with the Dead Giveaway video. This video is much like the Bed Intruder because of the likeness of the two characters. Both Antoine and Charles saved someone, and they both have a special way of speaking, which makes me laugh in a good way.

For those who didn’t see the Bed intruder, here is the video, it is very funny.

Ramsey is off to a good start because today, the web loves him. Hopefully, he can be used to do some advertisement for McDonald’s or another company, because using him will be legit.

Now that we are all more or less social media addicts, we are just giving more work to companies out there, especially if they are dealing with a crisis. responding to crisis today has become easy and challenging at the same time. Social media usually amplifies the a crisis because of the number of people who are on site like Twitter or Facebook. In the old days, if an add was offensive, it takes some time for everyone to see it and the company can pull it out before more damage is done. Today, you release an ad on TV, in seconds it’s already uploaded on YouTube and before you realize, everybody is either sharing it or commenting it on Facebook and twitter.

If a company’s PR team is on top of everything, they can plan ahead of time what to do if a crisis arouses. In this case, Social website that usually are dangerous for spreading quickly messages, can also become the very best tool to react , to engage in a discussion or to apologize, there is need to.

Being on top of everything is very rewarding, especially if you are able to turn an unfortunate situation to your advantage. That’s what Oreo did, during the Superbowl blackout.

Not only did Oreo get publicity for the tweet, but also it made itself talked about weeks after the Superbowl. This tweet was retweeted 10,000 times in an hour. This just shows how easy you can turn something around. According to AdAge, the Oreo graphic was “designed, captioned and approved within minutes,” according to Sarah Hofstetter, president of the cookie brand’s digital agency of record, Dentsu-owned 360i

Therefore, it is very important for every company to have a crisis plan that involves the worst scenario. By having one, companies are setting themselves to control any crisis, if it ever came up. Using Facebook, twitter, or another social networking site, it allows the company to send out a message very fast, and reach as many people as possible.